Method of cleaning and polishing surfaces.



F. W. MILLER.

METHOD OF CLEANING AND POLISHING SURFACES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I5, 1915.

PutentedSept. 12, 1916.

lid

t1; MILLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

WILLIAM WHITE, TRUSTEE, 0F NILES, MICHIGAN.

METHQD 0F CLEANING AND POLISHING SURFACES.

Specificatio ers Patent. Patented Sept. f2, 191%.

Application filed January 15, 1915. Serial No. 2,353.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK W. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Cleaning and Polishing Surfaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to cleaning and polishing and has more particular reference to a method. and means for removing the grease, dirt and the like from surfaces such, for instance, as the surfaces of railway locomotives and the like and for imparting to the able luster or finish which gives to the surface a polished appearance.

A method and means for accomplishing the above result is disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 863,577, filed September 25, 1914, but according to the dis-.

- closure-in that application the cleaning was accomplished by 'causmg to impinge against the surface to be cleaned a stream comprising water, oil and a' gas or rarefied fluid 7 under pressure.

My present method is an improvement upon the one disclosed in myprior application in that a stream of water alone is relied upon for deposits while the oil is applied in a spray to the surface todisintegrate and loosen the deposits in order that they may be removed by the stream of water, as well as to prevent rusting and to give the desired luster and polish to the cleaned surface. I propose in the present instance to have the discharge of oil under the control of the operative so that normally the oil supply is shut off but may be turned on intermittently by the operative to supply the oil in sufficient quantities to disintegrate the deposits, as the cleaning process progresses, and also to give the required finish to the surface.

Since oil and compressed air or other rarefled fluid are the expensive components of the methods practised in accordance bothmy prior and present applications it will be manifest that the present method can be carried out much more economicall than the former for the reason that in the oriner the fluid and oil was being continually discharged while in the present it is only discharged at intervals when required.

In order to facilitate an understanding of surfaces so cleaned a desirthe cleaning or removal of the- 'tached.

with

my invention have disclosed in the accompanylng drawings one preferred apparatus for carrying my improved method into effect, like reference characters referring to s1m1lar parts throughout various views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a s1de elevation of an apparatus designed to carry out my improved method; Fig. 2 is a s1de elevation on an enlarged scale of the nozzle; F1g. 3 is a plan view of the nozzle shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is an end view of the nozzle taken substantially on the l ne 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary s1de elevatlon of the nozzle showing the mannor of dlscharge, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the manually operable valve which controls the oil spray.

. Qn the drawings referencev character 7 lndlcates generally a portable truck adapt.- ed to be readily trundled about and upon which the oil tank 8 and the hose rack 9 are carried. The tank is designed to contain oil or other llquid capable of disintegrating the deposits of grease, dirt, etc., on the surfaces of locomotives, and of preventing rust and producing the desired polislr'ed effect, and is equipped with gage cocks. 11 by means of. which the height of the oil in the tank may be determined, If preferred, a gage glass of well lmown character may be employed in lieu of the gage cocks shown. The top of the tank is equipped with a removable plug 12 to permit the tank to be filled with oil, and an air cock 13 is also mounted in the top of the tank through which the pressure in the tank may be relieved when desired.

A pipe 14, mounted on the truck as shown in Fig. 1, is provided with a nipple or coupling to which one end of a hose 15 is at- The other end of the hose is connected with any suitable source of air or other fluid under pressure. In the present instance I have shown for purposes of illustration a post 16 of a round house upon which is customarily mounted an air supply drop 17 and a ,water supply drop 18, these drops bein equipped at their lower ends with shut-o valves 19 and 21 respectively. The air hose 15 is shown inthe present instance as connected to the air drop 17 from which air is delivered to the pipe 14. A branch pipe 22, connected by a T to the pipe 14, communicates at its upper end with the interior of the tank 8, this pipe being preferably equipped with a shut-off valve 23 by means of which the air pressure to the tank may be shut off when desired. The pipe 14 extends to a point adjacent to the tank 8 where it is connected by suitable elbows with a return pipe 24, to the extremity of which a flexible air hose 25 is attached. The pipe 24 is equipped with a shut-off valve 26 preferably operated, for sake of convenience, from a handle 27 supported by a bracket 28.

It will be manifest that the liquid in the tank 8 is maintained under pressure by the air or other fluid admitted to the top of the tank through the pipe 22 and the liquid is thereby forced out through the pipe 29 into a regulator 31 connected with the pipe24. This regulator may be of any preferred construction, but is designed to deliver the oil to the pipe 24 in small quantities, and the connection between the regulator and the pipe is provided with a deflector or nozzle 32 which delivers the oil to the pipe in the direction of travel of the current of air in the pipe so that the oil is atomized by an injector action and carried along in small particles by the stream of air.

A pipe 33 connected at one end by a flexible hose 34 with the water drop 18 is provided at its other end with a nozzle 35 having a series of discharge orifices 36, as shown in Fig. 4, through which the water is dis charged under pressure in a series of small parallel streams. .The pipe 33 is preferably equipped with a check valve 37 and also with a hand valve 38, by which theoperative may shut off or diminish the flow of water. The pipe 33 is carried around and manipulated by the boiler washer so as to direct the water upon the surfaces to be cleaned, and in practice it is found that the discharge under pressure in small streams will rapidly and efliciently remove all dust, mud, grease and other foreign matter adhering to the surfaces of the locomotive.

The free end of the air hose 25 is attached to a pipe 39 rigidly connected with the pipe The direction of the streams from their respective nozzles is shown in Fig. .5 in which reference character 43 indicates the streams of water and 44 indicates the stream of air and oil which impinges against the surface 45 to be cleaned at a point somewhat remote from the impingement of the water. While I have shown on the drawings the nozzle 42 as terminating beneath and practically in vertical axial alinement with the nozzle 35 it should be understood that I am not restricted to this precise relative arrangement of the discharge orifices but that the oil and an outlet might be placed in several positions with respect to the water outlet so long as the direction of discharge is such that the oil spray does not mingle with the stream of water before impinging upon the surface to be cleaned.

In order that the quantity of compressed air and oil used may be reduced to a minimum so as to make the apparatus highly efiic1 ent and economical, I have equipped the pipe 39 with a valve designated generally by reference character 46 and shown in section in Fig. 6. This valve comprises a stem 47 provided with a disk 48 which is normally held against its seat by a coil spring 49. The upper end of the stem projects through a stufling box 51 and is adapted to be depressed to open the valve by means of a manually controlled handle 52 pivoted to the valve casing at 53. The handle portion 54 of the lever 52 may be depressed by the thumb of the operator to thereby open the valve and permit the discharge of the oil spray whenever desired.

When the apparatus is in operation the water is discharged continuously under pressure through the nozzle 35 against the surface to be cleaned and the oil is discharged only intermittently and in small quantities by manipulation of the valve 46. The actual cleaning or removal of the deposits is accomplished by the water and since the water would leave the surfaces in a rusty and unpolished condition the oil is applied to the cleaned surfaces in a fine spray, which imparts to the cleaned sur faces a luster and a polished appearance. It will thus be obvious that it is possible to thoroughly clean and polish a locomotive by going over the surfaces only once and that -the cleaning and polishing is effected economically and efliciently and with the employment of a minimum of oil and air.

I claim:

1. The herein described method, which consists in applying under pressure to the surface to .be cleaned, a stream of water and a separate stream of oil in finely divided condition, and in such proximity to the stream of water as to assist in the removal of the deposits from said surface and also to impart a finish thereto.

2. The method of cleaning surfaces, which consists in delivering a stream of water at high velocity against a surface to be cleaned, and during the delivery of such stream causing a stream containing oil in a finely divided condition to impinge against said surface in such proximity to said stream of water as to assist in the removal of the demes es posits from said surfaces and also to impart a finish thereto.

3. The method of cleaning surfaces, which consists in delivering a stream of water at t high velocity against a surface to be cleaned,

and during the delivery of said stream causing a stream containing oil in a finely di vided condition to intermittently impinge at will against said surface in such proximity M) to said stream of water as to assist in the, re-

moval of the deposits from said surface and also to impart a finish thereto.

4. lllhe hereindescribed method which consists in" passing a stream of air past a rett stricted oil discharge port to atomize a predetermined quantity of the oil, discharging said atomized mixture under pressure against a surface, and during such discharge impinging adjacent to the point of discharge of said mixture a stream of Water under pressure so that the two streams impinge against the surface to be cleaned in such proximity to each other as to cooperate in the removal of the deposits from said surface, the oil serving also to impart a finish thereto.

FRANK W. MILLER. Witnesses:

IRA J. WILSON, A. G. LATIMER. 

